


What I See

by YellowSniper64



Series: Destiel/Sabriel Short Stories [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: A little bit of angst, Angels, Destiel - Freeform, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Mirror of Erised, Sabriel - Freeform, Team Free Will
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-04
Updated: 2019-02-04
Packaged: 2019-10-06 02:21:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17336870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YellowSniper64/pseuds/YellowSniper64
Summary: Gabriel had returned weeks prior and offered to help Team Free Will in a case. They find a witch by the name of Jacky; She's never been one to physically hurt any beings, but knows how to get one's attention. She uses the Mirror of Erised (which J.K. Rowling knew of as a witch and only stole for her fictional stories that got her kicked out of the grand coven) on hunters she has dragged in; it's torturous to see what you desperately want and so often can't have as a hunter.(got the idea from something on Pinterest/Tumblr for Destiel and decided to expand it)





	What I See

**Author's Note:**

> I planned to finish writing this sooner... I ended up losing sleep over this with my stuffed moose, listening to Queen.

"You sure you're up for a case?" Sam was leaning against the table, brow raised at the archangel that recently joined them.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be? I need something to do. I'm too antsy staying in here."

Gabriel was pacing back and forth, and Sam gave him a sympathetic look. He knew how boring it was to be cooped up in the bunker too long.

"Fine."

Dean walked in with the blue eyed angel at his heel, nodding to Gabriel. The older Winchester still didn't know what to think of the archangel, but was beginning to trust him, much to Castiel's encouragement. 

"A bunch of weird shit has been happening a few towns over. Like, UFO weird. I would blame him again," Dean pointed to Gabriel as he spoke, "if he wasn't with us still. I say we check it out."

Gabriel sent a partial smirk his way. "I could still do that from here. I'm not, but it  _does_ give me ideas-"

"No."

He pouted at the moose who cut him off. "No fun." This earned an eye roll before Dean continued to explain. "It's about a 2 hour drive-"

"Or we could fly you there."

This time, it was the deadly glare from Castiel that shut him up. 

"Alright, I'll pack up the car with everything and anything since we have no idea what this is. Head out in 10, ok?" Dean turned away before getting a response. They did as he said, meeting outside within the 10 minutes they were given. Winchesters took the front, Dean driving obviously, while the angels took the back. It was rather quiet, Dean having kept the radio off for some reason. He seemed to be thinking about something while staring intensely at the road ahead. That was, until an all too familiar snap could be heard from the backseat.

The guitar opening of Heat Of The Moment began playing through the speakers. Castiel seemed unfazed, while Dean was confused but went along with it. Sam grimaced, however, and caught Gabriel's eye in the side view mirror of the impala. What he saw wasn't, in fact, the cocky grin he'd been expecting. Instead, he was met with an entirely serious face that sent shivers down his spine. The hunter looked away, starting ahead and listening to the song that he thought would haunt him forever.

 _I never meant to be so bad to you_  
_One thing I said that I would never do_

Sam almost laughed at that. Almost. Until he remembered why the trickster had been doing that to him in the first place. It was to protect him,  _of all things_ , that was his reason. Dean was his weakness, that much was clear, and Gabriel knew that Dean was going to be the death of him. That much was proven correct, as the younger hunter had died on multiple occasions, but he was the closest to 'fine' as he could be right now.

 _A look from you and I would fall from grace_  
_And that would wipe this smile right from my face_

Sam's eyes traveled back to the reflections of Gabriel's in that moment, and for a split second, the hunter could see pain in his eyes. That was gone the moment he realized Sam was looking at him again. The hunter decided that he shouldn't be putting so much thought into this, because it was making his head hurt and was probably nothing anyway.

Dean tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, humming mindlessly to himself as the radio changed through songs. He played over in his head what he had read online about what had been going on, as confused as ever. Most of the articles he had reviewed mentioned abandoned buildings and big, looming trees suddenly disintegrating. There were also reports of people shrinking then returning to normal the next day. He could only guess it was witchcraft, as no one had been killed-yet-so it wasn't the work of a trickster. Either way, Dean was sure that he and his dysfunctional family would deal with it like they always do.

~~

They arrived, all of which were lost in thoughts they didn't bring up as they climbed out of the vehicle. Dean fell asleep almost instantly as they made there way into their currently motel and he collapsed on the bed. 

"Is he alright?" Castiel asked the hunter's brother. In return he got a nod, as Sam said "He's been busy lately. Doin' research, always muttering to himself. Strange for him, but not something to be worried about." He gave the angel a reassuring smile as he himself sat back on his bed. 

With a nod, Cas offered to go talk to the townspeople that were affected, having been filled in on the details by Dean before hand. As he left, Gabriel snapped a sharpie into existence. "Do I have permission to draw on your brother?"

Sam almost snorted at that. "Ok, I get that you have to ask for permission for certain things, but I never imagined you ask before doing a prank. The answer is yes, by the way."

The archangel smiled to himself, ignoring the first part of Sam's statement as he went to draw dicks and facial hair on the sleeping hunter. Grace kept him snoozing for as much time as Gabriel needed, while the moose watched on in amusement. It'd be hectic when his brother woke up, but he was content with the gleeful look on the former-trickster's face.

~~

As expected, Dean was furious, Cas was confused, and the other two were too busy laughing to care. The angry Winchester was damn near close to scratching his skin off with a cloth before Castiel cleaned it up for him. 

"We should get going. Cas, you said you had a lead?" Sam asked, as he finally calmed down.

"Yes..." The angel sent a glance Dean's way, who was still fuming but nodded briskly to continue. "It's the northern side of town that most of the incidents happen. In the middle of it all is a warehouse, which no one can seem to enter into. When I tried approaching and going through the front door, I only seemed to walk out the back."

The other three nodded, agreeing to head out as soon as possible. Sam made sure to get his brother to calm down before getting in the car, for fear of being locked up with an angry brother for longer than he has to.

"So a witch, huh?" Gabriel spoke up. "Should be easy, depending on their level." 

"By the amount of people that have been shrunk and disintegrated buildings, you would guess she has a high level of power. I'm still confused as to why she hasn't actually hurt anyone? I'm grateful, though." Sam leaned back in his seat, speaking as he mulled it over.

"We should be extremely careful, we have no idea what she could be hiding or what would happen if we could even get inside," Castiel pointed out, getting nods all around.

"Game plan?"  
  
"C'mon, Dean, when have any of our plans ever actually worked?" Sam pointed out to his brother, who chuckled.

"Fair point. Talkin' before shootin', though, right? We don't know what they might want."

Baby was parked about a 3 minutes walk away from where they were headed, and those few minutes were filled with Gabriel's teasing, Sam's chuckles, Castiel's sighing and Dean's rapid-fire comebacks to anything the archangel had to say to him.

"This is it." Castiel turned a sharp corner, almost tripping the rest. They now gazed upon a cement building, too many floors high and unnecessary in many aspects. It stood out, yet no one seemed to be paying it much mind. Perhaps they had learned to ignore it. ”Shall we try going in normally again?”

Dean shrugged. “I don’t see why not. Stay on guard.”

Gabriel walked in normally, prepared to use his ‘mo-jo’ if it came to that, Castiel gripping his angel blade. The other two brandished guns, following afterwards through the doorway into a seemingly-pitch black room. They were all surprised to walk into a room filled with overhead lights; The two hunters squinted as their eyes adjusted, while the two celestial beings were unfazed by it.

Before them stood a woman, straight mocha hair curving around her face smoothly, not reaching her shoulders. Chocolate skin was clear of any blemishes, as she stared expectantly at the group with sea-weed green eyes. She clearly new what was happening and had control over the situation. The hunters looked to each other, gaping slightly as they had assumed that they would fall out the back door, like the raven-haired angel had. Said angel looked ticked off, while Gabriel was simply unamused. 

"What do you want, bitch?" Dean was the first to speak up. 

"Ah, Dean. You're just as nice as everyone says!" The woman sent a cocky grin his way, to which he simply glared.

"Why are we here?" Castiel tried next.

"Because! It's so fun to be able to mess with you darling hunters who think they matter." She only winked before continuing. "The name's Jacky. Witch, as you may have guessed. I don't do well with small talk, so have fun!"

"Wha-" 

Gabriel was cut off as a clap echoed through the room, then through their heads until they could finally focus on the fact that they were separated. 

 

**-Dean-**

The older hunter was in an empty room... Well, mostly empty. In the middle was a tall _thing_. It was covered by a cloth, that looked rather worn out with age. Dean cautiously made his way over to it, gun still in hand, pulling down the tattered cloth to see a mirror. 

"What the hell?" Dean asked the empty air, giving himself a confused expression. 

Careful steps pulled him closer to the mirror, which he could only see because of the sun that shone through moth-eaten curtains. Putting the gun away, Dean traced his fingers carefully over inscriptions along the mirror's frame; nothing he could recognize. Looking to his reflection again, the hunter recognized a face behind him.

"Cas, thank God-"  
Dean has to cut himself off as he spun around to see that no one was there. He faced the emptiness behind him in bewilderment. Once he was facing the mirror again, the angel was still there, a gentle smile adorning his features as he met Dean's eyes with his own brighter orbs.

The hunter could only stare as the fake-Cas pulled up beside him, fingers reaching down to intertwine with Dean's; A golden band seemed to sparkle around the angel's ring finger, only to be matched with one on the hunter's left hand as well.   
"Cas?" Dean voice was quiet, as if the mirror would shatter if his voice was raised. The version of the angel before him only placed a soft kiss on his cheek in response.

 

**-Castiel-**

The angel didn't approach the mirror, wouldn't dare to. He could feel it's energy enough to know what is was. Instead, he spun on his heal to find the way out. After walking aimlessly in time that he didn't comprehend, he finally found the dirty blond hunter, who was lost in the magic that Castiel had been trying to avoid. By the way the hunter's eyes were widened and his legs shaking, it was clear that he didn't know whether to get closer or back away from whatever he was seeing.

"Dean!" 

Said man's eyes darted in the direction of the voice, and he seemed to stumble out of the trance he was in. He was evening out his breathing as Castiel approached him. "Are you alright?" the angel asked. Dean nodded slightly, sinking to the floor into a sitting position and staring at floor in an attempt to ignore the magic mirror that was taunting him. "What is that thing?"

"The Mirror of Erised. It shows you your deepest desire. I guess Jacky is trying to have her fun in showing hunters what they can't have."

Dean only nodded. "Can you see anything?" He still refused to look up.   
Cas, taking a seat next to the hunter, finally glanced up. He wasn't known not doing what he shouldn't do, anyway.

"Just you and I, here on the floor." 

"So it doesn't work for angels, then?"

Castiel didn't respond. Dean didn't need to know that the mirror reflected just as he had said, except with the addition of his rightful wings, curled protectively around his hunter, the one he was sent to protect and had sworn to himself to take care of. 

 

**-Sam-**

The taller Winchester had seen the Harry Potter moves enough times to know what it was when he pulled off the cloth that covered the mirror before him. Sam made an attempt to prepare himself for the probability that Jess or Amelia would be staring back at him as soon as he opened his eyes. He didn't think that was what he wanted anymore, but the witch could still just want to mess with him. 

When the younger hunter's eyes did reluctantly open, he met his own gaze of sunflower eyes. He then let his eyes wander to the scene around him; a golden retriever bounded around him at his feet, Dean was happy in the background with a genuine smile for once with Cas, and Gabriel was clinging on to him from behind in a piggyback ride, his head thrown back in laughter. 

Sam blinked a few times, trying to ignore the tears that started to form. Pure joy for his family; something he'd never see with the kind of life he has. He subconsciously brought his hands up to hold mirror-Gabriel's hands. Part of him wanted to fall into that reality, stepping into the mirror and never have to worry about monsters again. But... his family needed him. His family here. Even if he couldn't tell Gabriel how he feels in fear the angel would run away again, even if his brother will be knee-deep in research and never fully calm, even if Castiel could never truly believe the fact that he belongs with them; Sam needed to get back to his family in this reality.

So he walked. And walked and walked and walked, ignoring the call of magic calling him from any-which-way. 

 

**-Gabriel-**

He could only cry. The "almighty" archangel snapped, unable to stop the tears. Every family had left him, and no one could truly accept him. What made him think that this would be any different? He stared into the reflective surface where he could see himself, happy and supported by people who actually cared. Not just those who wanted to use him. Not the family of angels that fought constantly, so many of which were now dead. He wanted his makeshift family now; Castiel, his actual brother who still cared about him despite everything. Dean, who he bantered with oh so often, but would miss in the silence of his own mind. Sam, who was still willing to care for him despite all the suffering and tricks he had to put up with. 

Gabriel was lost. He knew it was only so much time before they decided they were done with him, that he could fight on his own. He was no where near ready to lose another family and doubted he ever would be.

Footsteps were drowned out by his own crying, his eyes screwed shut as he refused to look at the mirror anymore. 

 "Gabriel, hey, it's fine, I've got you." A quiet and careful voice pulled him from his mind. Half expecting it to be an illusion, Gabriel had a set glare as his golden eyes opened. Though his vision was slightly blurred, he could see that the moose of a man was crouched in front of him, cautiously reaching out a hand to him. "Sam?" the archangel asked, still unsure that any of this was real. 

"Yeah, it's me. C'mon, I'll get you out of here, just ignore the mirror. We need to find our brothers still, but you won't have to deal with that," Sam pointed to the mirror he had covered up upon approaching, "anymore. Do you trust me?"

Gabriel tentatively took the hunter's hand, nodding as he wiped away the tears. "Sorry" he mumbled, hating the fact that Sam had to see him this way. His only response was "don't be" as he helped pull the usually-bright angel up. The hunter was immediately engulfed in a hug as Gabe buried his face into flannel. 

They stood like that for a few minutes, Sam swaying the archangel a bit in his arms. "I just want to be happy" had been muttered several times by Gabriel, muffled by cloth. The hunter had no idea what he had seen, and certainly wan't going to ask. Gabriel fell into unconsciousness shortly after, and the hunter shifted awkwardly, eventually getting in a comfortable position of carrying the celestial being.

**\--**

Sam wandered, until he met up with his brother and Cas, who gave his concerned glances when noticing who he was carrying. "He's alright. Sent himself into sleep, as the best way to calm down his mind."

"What happened?"  
"The mirror, same as you two." Sam answered his brother, who then looked confused.   
"But Cas said..."

The angel didn't meet Dean's eye, and the hunter huffed in response. He was going to have to question Castiel later.

"Well done, you haven't gotten lost in the magic!" Jacky appeared behind them, a cocky smile still present.  
"Yeah, we're alive and all. Guess your plan didn't work, huh?"

"Oh, are you sure? You may be here, close to getting out, but where are your minds at? And may I remind you, your archangel doesn't seem to be doing so well," She pointed a lazy finger to Sam, still holding said angel. "Get out, do what you want with your life. I don't care."

With a flick of her wrist, they were outside again. The three still standing looked around, everything appeared to be normal. Heavy silence hung between them as the trekked back to the car; Sam ended up sitting in the back, running his hand through Gabriel's hair nervously, wondering when he would wake up. It wasn't until Dean was pulling up into the driveway and Sam found himself teleported back to his room that he knew Gabriel was doing better. 

Gabriel sprawled himself out on Sam's bed, face down on the sheets. The hunter was stumbling, but caught himself before he could fall forward on his bed as well. "Gabe?" He called sheepishly. 

"I'm sorry," was the muffled response he got. "I'm sorry you had to see me like that and had to deal with me."

Sam chuckled. "It was nothing, honestly. I just wanted to make sure you were ok. You seem to be now, though."  
Gabriel rolled over, meeting the moose's gaze. "I don't think I'll ever be 'ok', but what can ya do?" 

The human cautiously took a seat next to the archangel, finding himself pulling the golden man into a hug. "I don't know what you saw, but you have us now, okay?" Sam's calloused fingers were running through the smaller figure's hair again. 

"Why have you been so nice to me?" Gabriel asked eventually to break the silence. 

"Because, you're Cas' family and you deserved another chance-"

"But I've tried killing you! I killed Dean several times! I told you that accepting to be a vessel was the best idea, and look where that got you! I've killed so many people, how the hell could you give me a second chance after  _that_?"

The hunter was silent for a minute, but not because he was contemplating what to say. He knew what he wanted to say, but the archangel needed a second to calm down. Eventually, he said, "You're family to us now too, Gabe. We give family every damn chance they need because we love them."

"Damn it, Sammy..."

They stayed the way they were in each other's arms for a while, just needing each other in that moment. Neither needed to- well,  _wanted to_ talk about what they saw, but they were content with the present, neither of which knowing that this was a small taste of the happy fantasy that the other was shown. 

~•~

Dean sighed upon the sound of wings, noting that his brother and Gabriel were gone. He assumed they went some place quiet, and he couldn't blame them. It wasn't until he and Cas made it inside that he decided to break the silence.

"Why did you lie?"

The angel was silent, not knowing what to say that might keep the hunter from getting mad. But... then again, when has Cas ever been careful about angering Dean? It was almost comical to him at this point. "You weren't very eager to tell me either," he finally said.

Dean grimaced, in a way that seemed involuntary, and refused to meet Castiel's eyes, which were boring into him.

"I... would you actually care if I told you?" Dean asked, his voice strained. He eventually forced himself to look up to acknowledge the angel's nodding. "I saw us. Happy and together. Like,  _together_ together. Cas, we were married, without the weight of the world on our shoulders, and I just... I didn't know what to think." His voice raised more to the end of what he was saying, like the way it does when he’s on a case that he doesn’t understand.

”I wasn’t lying,” Castiel said, after a moment of awkward silence passed between the two. The hunter barely heard him, with out quiet his voice was, but he definitely said it. “Hm?” Dean finally met the celestial being’s gaze, expecting something like for him to be glaring back. Instead, Castiel looked somewhat scared, though you could only see it in his eyes; he stood as confidently as ever.

”I... wasn’t lying when I said I saw us there in the mirror. It was practically the same. The only difference... Well, I was an angel again. A _proper_ angel. I had my wings back and I could protect you. I could be useful for once.” In contradiction to Dean, his voice got quieter as he continued.

Dean, forgetting his previous embarrassment, practically snapped. "Useless? Cas, what the actual hell? You're one of the best damn things that's happened in my hellish life. You've saved me and Sam, you've even  _died_ for us. You're one hell of a fighter, and, sure, you've almost killed me, but I've tried killing you too! After all this, you've always come back and you still somehow think you're  _useless?_ You need to-"

He would have been embarrassed. Really, he would have moved away and continued his spiel, if he wasn't too focused on how well his lips melded with those of the angel. Dean felt warmth; a safe sort of feeling that left him wanting to never let go. But, he wasn't the one hanging on. It was Cas who pulled him in, connection their lips as if this was their last chance. It was Castiel who ended it as well, pushing the hunter back slightly with a somewhat irritated look.

"-shut up, asshole." Dean finished, though he now wore an amused smile. He couldn't even bother feeling embarrassed. He still felt the safeness from within, and was starting to think that it was Cas' grace that caused it. It was nice, though, so he wasn't complaining. 

"Again?"  
"Definitely."

It was Dean who initiated the kiss this time. Yes, they had a lot of things to discuss and figure out. Yes, Castiel still had some self-worth issues to figure out. Yes, Dean was going to shout at Gabriel later for attaching himself to Sam. And yes, their lives were still a mess, but they found something to live for, because saying you'll live for someone means so much more than saying you'll die for them in this life. 

**Author's Note:**

> Tell me what ya think~  
> Also- tf kind of rating should I give this because I've never understood which was for what circumstance????  
> This took wayyyyyy too long to write ;-;


End file.
